Heroes Are Born
by JMFearless
Summary: Two ordinary teens turn into heroes after the eclipse. This is their story.
1. Erin Estrada Character Sheet

Note: This is a character sheet. It is not the beginning of the story

Name: Erin Estrada

Age: 17

Gender: Female

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 120 lbs

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Green

Father: Malcom Estrada, 40, lawyer. Mother: Andrea Estrada, 40, artist.

Ability: She can alter the physical or chemical strucure of any object. She can also negate abilities used on Jesse Martin.

Weakness: She can only transmute objects into other objects of same family. (Liquid to liquid, solid to solid, etc.) She must be near Jesse Martin in order to use her abilities.

Clothing Style: Erin typically dresses in a non-descript fashion. She often wears long sleeve sweatshirts, blue jeans, and light grey sneakers. She always wears a dark blue jacket and a locket that she was given by her mother. Inside the locket is a mysterious symbol that resembles the RNA helix. (Fans of Heroes should be familiar with this symbol.)


	2. Jesse Martin Character Sheet

Note: This is a character sheet. It is not the beginning of the story

Name: Jesse Martin

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 140 lbs

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Brown

Father: Andrew Martin, 45, College Instructor. Mother: Diana Martin, 44, Psychologist.

Ability: Telekinesis. He can also negate abilities used on Erin Estrada.

Weaknesses: He can only use his telekinesis on objects, not people. He must be near Erin Estrada in order to use his abilities.

Clothing Style: Jesse wears a lot of hooded sweatshirts and band T-shirts. He always wears blue or black jeans and dark grey shoes. He always wears an orange jacket when he goes out and he also has a wristwatch. His right hand has the Kensei symbol on it, although he does not know it's meaning.


	3. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes or any characters, except for Erin Estrada and Jesse Martin.

Heroes Are Born

By JMFearless

Chapter One

Erin Estrada was an ordinary teenage girl, just like any other. She went to high school, she had friends. She even participated in drama. She was just like any other girl. But she was also different. She had been different ever since the eclipse. But it's probably best to start from the beginning. It was an ordinary day and she had just gotten to school. She was on her way into the building when she met a friend of hers, Jesse Martin. Jesse was a little different, but he was a likeable enough guy. Erin and Jesse normally didn't talk much, today seemed different,

"**Hey Erin," **he said, smiling.

"**Hey," **she said, **"What's up?"**

"**Not much," **he said, **"I have kind of a weird feeling about today though."**

"**Oh yeah?" **she asked, **"What kind of feeling?"**

"**It's kind of hard to explain," **he said, **"Like something interesting is going to happen today."**

"**I think your feeling is right," **she remarked, noticing something weird in the sky, **"Look at that." **He looked up at the sky.

"**An eclipse," **he said, **"That's interesting all right." **Suddenly, he keeled over, screaming in pain.

"**Are you all right?" **she asked him, kneeling down next to him.

"**My right hand," **he said, **"It hurts." **She grabbed him by the hand and looked at it. She turned it over looking for the source of his pain. She saw it immediately. On the back of his hand was a symbol.

"**Whoa,"** Erin said, **"I didn't know you went in for tattoos."**

"**I don't," **he said, looking down at his hand, **"I've never gotten a tattoo in my life."**

"**Weird," **she said, **"It looks like it's been burned into your skin."**

"**Yeah," **he said, **"Well, at least it doesn't hurt anymore."**

"**That's good," **she responded, and then she gasped, **"I've seen that symbol before!"**

"**Seriously?"** he asked, **"Where?"**

"**Let me show you," **she said, taking the locket from around my neck, **"My mother gave me this." **She opened the locket and showed him the symbol with which she had become so familiar: It looked like the RNA helix that she had seen in her biology book.

"**That's the same symbol," **he said, looking at his hand, **"Did your mother ever tell you what it meant?"**

Erin shook her head. **"No, she never did," **she said, **"She just told me to keep it with me all the time."**

"**I see," **Jesse responded, and then looked at the locket closely, **"Hey, that's weird."**

"**What is?" **she said, and then looked down. **"Whoa, it's silver! What the heck is going on here? This locket has always been gold!" **She was starting to feel majorly freaked out.

"**Gold, turning into silver," **Jesse mused, **"It sounds like transmutation or something! But that's impossible. The composition of an object shouldn't be able to change without some kind of external stimulus." **Suddenly, the locket began to waver in Erin's palm, just before flying out of her hand.

"**And that definitely shouldn't be able to happen without an external stimulus," **Erin remarked as she ran after it. Jesse got up and followed her. They were eventually able to locate it, hanging by it's chain from a tree branch.

"**Well, we found it," **Jesse said, **"Now how do we get it down?" **

"**I could try climbing it," **Erin said, **"It doesn't look that hard." **But there was no need. As they looked at it, it lifted slowly off of the branch and floated gently in front of Erin, who reached out and grabbed it.

"**Whoa," **Jesse said, **"How the hell did that happen?"**

"**You've got me," **Erin said, **"It just floated down by itself."**

Jesse pondered this for a moment, and then remembered something from just before the locket floated down. **"Before it came down," **he said, **"I was thinking how it would be nice if the locket would just come down the same way it came up. It was like I caused it just by wishing for it or something." **

"**Like telekinesis?" **Erin asked, **"Freaky."**

"**Yeah," **he said, **"I think that I may have caused it to go up there in the first place too, but I didn't will it or anything. Like the power or whatever just acted by itself."**

"**Before the locket changed into silver," **Erin said, **"My vision changed; it was like I could see the chemical and physical structures of the locket rather than the locket itself. I think I may have manipulated it somehow. **

"**So," **Jesse said, **"It's like we have superpowers or something. We've got to test them. See how powerful we are."**

Erin nodded. **"I'm going to try to change something else," **she said. She looked around, and then fixed her gaze on a small stone. Suddenly, the stone became grey and gained a metallic sheen. **"Okay, so I can transmute substances," **she said, **"This is freaking me out. How the heck did this happen?"** The stone returned to its normal state as she said this.

"**I don't know," **Jesse said, **"I think we should avoid going to class today. We don't want to risk these abilities showing themselves in front of other people. We're lucky if we weren't noticed just now."**

"**Probably a good idea," **Erin said, **"Hey, what are you doing?" **She noticed that Jesse was staring intently at her.

"**I'm seeing if my power works on people as well as objects," **he said, **"It looks like it doesn't."**

"**Too bad," **Erin responded, smirking. **"It would make a pretty mean weapon in a fight. Come on, let's go somewhere."**

"**My place," **Jesse said, **"My parents will be gone now. We'll have plenty of privacy, so we can try and figure this thing out." **Erin nodded, still a little dazed by all of this. They walked off together, with Jesse leading the way.


	4. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Jesse walked anxiously to his house, leading Erin along. This was way too strange. A Solar Eclipse, the strange symbol on his hand, special abilities. To be honest, it was beginning to freak him out a little. He could tell by looking at Erin that she was freaked out too. She was moving slower than normal, taking tentative steps. Jesse knew her well enough to know what that meant: This situation had her terrified. He knew the feeling: He was terrified too. Were these abilities a gift? Or would they turn out to be a curse? How had they come by them? Were there other people who also had them? And what did this strange symbol on his hand have to do with it? There seemed to be a whole lot of questions and not a ready source of answers. This was all very troubling. But they couldn't afford to panic. They had to try to figure this out. He turned to Erin and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"**Hey, don't worry so much," **he said, giving her a smile, **"We're going to figure this out, you know."**

"**I know," **she said, **"This whole thing is just so insane." **She picked up her pace a little as they approached the house.

"**You're telling me," **Jesse said, as his house came into view, **"The front is probably locked. We'll have to go in the back door." **

"**All right," **Erin said, following him up the driveway. He reached into his pocket and took out a key. He walked up the back steps and inserted the key into the lock. He turned it slowly and opened the door. Erin followed behind him as he entered. His eyes immediately landed on the kitchen table, where a videotape was sitting. It wasn't too unusual in itself, except for the fact that the tape was labled with the same symbol that was on his hand. It also had his name on it.

"**I've got a feeling we're about to get those answers you mentioned earlier," **Erin said.

"**Yeah," **Jesse responded, taking the video with him into the living room and putting in the VCR, **"This had better not be someone's idea of a joke." **He pressed the play button on the VCR and he and Erin sat down to watch. The face of a man appeared on the screen, in what appeared to be a laboratory.

'**Hello," **the figure said,** "I am Chandra Suresh. If you are the person whose name is on this is video, then I must insist that you listen to what I have to say. First, I want to assure you that this not a prank, or a practical joke of any kind. I will likely meet my death shortly after this. I am a scientist who has been observing the rise of super-evolved humans within our population. I have sent you this video because I believe that you may be one of these individuals. If you have noticed anything strange recently, such as an ability that extends beyond human talent, then you should follow these instructions. Go to New York City and find my son, Mohinder Like me, he is a scientist and I have no doubt that he will continue my research. He will be able to explain everything. Also, beware of the serial killer known as Sylar. I do not know why, but he has been targeting people with your abilities. Be careful around strangers. I have reason to believe that Sylar will target me, in hopes of obtaining my list of people with these powers. You must seek my son Mohinder. He will be able to tell you far more than I am currently able to. Goodbye." **The screen went blank and the room was silent for moments.

"**It's a regular Ray Bradbury," **Jesse remarked.

"**No kidding," **Erin responded, shuddering, **"Do you think we should follow through on this?'**

"**Yes I do," **Jesse said, **"He didn't seem like he was joking. I've got some money saved up. We can buy plane tickets to New York. I'll get us some flights booked. Can you meet me here tomorrow?"**

"**Yes," **Erin said, **"When should we meet?"**

"**Well," **Jesse said, **"I think we should definitely go to class tomorrow. There will be questions if we don't show up two days in a row. So how about after school?"**

"**Sounds good," **Erin said, **"In the mean time I'd better get back home. My parents will be worried. Would you mind phoning for a cab?"**

"**Sure thing," **Jesse said, **"In the meantime, please make yourself at home." **He grabbed a phone book and looked up a cab service, and then called it.

"**Thanks," **Erin said, sitting in one of the living room chairs.

(Mohinder's POV, New York City.)

Mohinder Suresh looked over his father's papers. This research was truly unbelievable. He knew his father had been looking into people who were evolved beyond normal human levels, but he'd never imagined it to be on this level. His father had compiled an incredibly long list. All of these names. Knowing his father, he would probably be having a lot of visitors soon. He decided to prepare himself for that eventuality.


	5. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Dr. Suresh looked over his father's lists excitedly. His research was taking a new step forward. People from his father's list had started coming forward, wanting to know more about their strange abilities. He had received at least 25 visitors over the past week, all with the same stories. They had received a videotape with his father on it, telling them that they should come find him. They had all developed abilities recently. Abilities that went far beyond the scope of normal humans. Could his father's hypothesis really be true? Super-evolved humans. The very idea of it would be a huge scientific discovery, but he wouldn't research any subjects without their consent. He heard a knock on his door.

"**More visitors I bet," **he muttered to himself as he went to the door and opened it. Two teenagers stood before him, a boy and a girl.

"**Are you Mohinder Suresh?" **the boy asked.

"**I might be," **Dr. Suresh answered carefully, **"Who's asking?"**

"**I'm Jesse Martin," **the boy responded, **"This is Erin Estrada. We received a message from your father."**

Mohinder nodded. It was just as he had suspected. **"I thought that might be it," **he said, **"Tell me, what are your abilities?" **

"**I can move objects with my mind." **Jesse responded.

"**And I can change the physical and chemical structure of objects," **Erin said.

"**Telekinesis and Alchemy," **Mohinder muttered, **"Interesting. Listen, I'd like to draw a sample of your blood. I've been examining different people with these abilities."**

"**We're not here to be science projects," **Jesse said, **"But I suppose a sample of my blood couldn't hurt. Erin?"**

"**Sure," **Erin responded, **"If it helps to explain what's going on here, then I'm game."**

"**Very well," **Mohinder said, **"Please come this way." **He led the way to his laboratory.

(Sylar's POV)

Sylar smiled with delight. Such power. He had to have more. There was no rush quite like killing these people. Well, almost none. Stealing their powers was still a much bigger rush. He needed more power. But where could he find it? Then he remembered. The same place he had gone when he had first discovered his power. Dr. Suresh's lab. No doubt other people would be going there. Sylar began walking in that direction.


	6. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Mohinder looked over the blood with amazement. This had the same variations as the other people who had come to see him, but it was also different. These blood cells were behaving unusually. They were multiplying. Not only that, they were doing it at an alarming rate. This was something he hadn't seen before. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he had a theory. This indicated, in his mind, that there was the potential here for their abilities to grow and expand. That seemed to support his father's theory: That these abilities were simply the next link in the chain of human evolution.

**"These blood samples are astounding," **Mohinder told them, **"They indicate that you have the potential to develop new and stronger abilities. This is the first time I have seen blood like this."**

"**So what does that mean?" **Erin asked, **"Besides us being able to become more powerful?"**

"**Well, it does support my father's super evolved human theory," **he said, **"But it also might mean something for you personally. If the killer known as Sylar were ever to learn of this, he would desire your power. If he gained it, that could mean trouble for everyone. Sylar would have potentially unlimited strength."**

"**I see," **Jesse said, **"So how do we stop Sylar? How do we even find him?"**

"**I should imagine Sylar will find you," **Dr. Suresh said, **"As for how you stop him, I don't know that. However, there is someone who might. An artist named Isaac Mendez. I think you'll find his artwork to be quite remarkable."**

"**Isaac Mendez," **Erin repeated, nodding, **"We'll be sure to do that." **No sooner had she spoken than all hell began to break lose. A door was kicked down from behind them. The three of them turned around. Mohinder took the sight in stride.

"**I thought you might come here, Sylar," **he said, **"Hunting for more abilities?"**

"**You know me so well, Dr. Suresh," **Sylar said, **"I see you've been digging into your father's research."**

"**You killed him," **Mohinder accused, glaring at Sylar.

"**He stood between me and what I wanted," **Sylar said, **"It served him right." **He looked at Erin and Jesse. **"Are you two more morsels for me?" **he asked, **"What are your abilities?"**

"**We could tell you," **Erin said, **"But we'd rather just show you." **She glanced at a stone on the mantle and it turned metallic and sharp, like a knife. Jesse glanced at the stone and it flew off the mantle, jamming into Sylar's shoulder before he could do anything to stop it. He was damaged, but not down. He ripped the stone out of his shoulder and tossed it aside.

"**Pretty impressive," **he stated, **"I can't wait to try them out. Now let me show you mine." **He glanced at Jesse and he fell to the ground, screaming in pain. **"Like it?" **Sylar asked, **"I picked it up a couple of months ago. It's one of my favorites." **Jesse screamed louder, as though he was being tortured. Erin rushed over to him.

"**Are you all right?" **she asked, looking down at him.

"**Y…Yeah," **he managed to choke out, **"But we should get out of here."**

Erin nodded and helped him stand up, knowing he was in too much pain to do so by himself. When she touched him, he seemed to relax, as though her touch were making the pain go away. _Strange, _she thought, _it's like I healed him or something. _Together, they ran out of Dr. Suresh's lab, trying to put as much distance as possible between them and Sylar.


	7. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Erin and Jesse sat together on a New York City bus, waiting for a city bus to arrive. They were both visibly shaken from their encounter with Sylar at Dr. Suresh's laboratory.

"**How are you feeling?" **Erin asked, looking over at Jesse.

"**Better," **he said, **"Sylar sure was strong. How are we going to fight someone like that?"**

"**Hopefully this Isaac Mendez, whoever he is, will have some answers," **Erin said, **"This address Dr. Suresh gave us should be a couple of blocks from here. Come on, we'd better get off." **Jesse nodded and pulled a cord directly over his head. The two of them waited until the bus stopped and exited calmly.

"**Come on," **Jesse said, reading the handwritten address, **"I think it's this way." **He led the way quickly, eager to get to the bottom of this. Soon enough, they arrived at the address.

"**I wonder if this address is current?" **Erin mused, **"I doesn't look like the lawn has been mowed in a while."**

"**Well, there's no car in the driveway," **Jesse noted, **"But that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Let's go knock on the door."**

"**Right," **Erin said, moving towards the back door and knocking hard. **"Mr Mendez?" **she called, **"Are you here?" **There was no answer. She tried the door, but it was locked.

"**Hey Jesse," **Erin said, **"Any chance you can unlock this thing with your telekinesis?"**

"**I can try," **Jesse said, concentrating on the knob, willing it to unlock. Nothing happened. **"I guess it doesn't work," **he said, **"Looks like I can't move things unless I can see them."**

"**Maybe I can transmute it into mist or something," **Erin said, focusing on it. Again, nothing happened. **"I guess I can't transmute solids into vapors. That sucks. Well, maybe there's a window or something." **They ran around to the side of the house. Pay dirt! About ten feet up there was a window. Locked obviously, but they latch was visible, which meant that it wouldn't be locked for long. Jesse glanced at the latch, causing it to release. Then he used his powers to open the window.

"**Nice work," **Erin said, **"Now give me a boost so I can climb in. Then I'll open the door for you." **Jesse nodded and cupped his hands together below his waist, making sure his feet were solidly planted. Erin placed her left foot into his hands. He pushed her up gently, lifting her within reach the window. She grabbed the edge and pulled herself inside. A few moments later, the back door opened and Jesse rushed inside.

"**Let's look around here," **he said, **"Dr. Suresh said we should look at his artwork." **He began scanning the rooms, looking around for paintings, drawings, anything. Erin called to him from the living room.

"**I found something," **she said, **"Come look at this." **Jesse followed the sound of her voice. She was standing before several canvases. In particular, she was looking at one of them. Jesse looked closely at it.

"**Whoa," **he said, **"That's us! He knew we were coming here." **Sure enough, the painting did indeed depict the two of them, standing in Isaac's loft.

"**I think I just figured out his power," **Erin said, **"He paints the future."**

"**Yes, as a matter I fact I do," **a voice said, **"Now turn around and tell me your names. And after that, you can explain what you're doing here."**

"**Mr. Mendez," **Jesse said, turning around, **"Dr. Mohinder Suresh sent us here."**

"**It's you!" **Isaac said, excitedly, as he glanced at Jesse's face, **"I'm sorry for snapping. I didn't realize it was you. Please sit down. You can tell me all about yourselves."** Erin and Jesse nodded and sat down, beginning to tell Isaac about who they were and what they were doing there.


	8. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

"**Telekinesis and Alchemy?" **Isaac said, **"How interesting." **He stood up and walked into another room. He came out with two paintings and showed it to them.

"**I painted these last week," **he said, **"Look what it shows."**

"**That's me," **Jesse observed, **"It looks like I'm in a prison cell. But that's crazy! I've never committed a crime in my life!"**

"**I don't know what it means," **Isaac said, **"We'll have to wait and see."**

"**I'm not with him in this painting," **Erin observed, **"Is there one of me?"**

Isaac shook his head. **"Sorry," **he said, **"I just paint what the visions show me."**

"**It's all right," **Erin said, a touch of disappointment in her voice.

"**So," **Jesse said, turning to her, **"What next, I wonder."**

"**Who is that?" **Erin asked, pointing at a painting in a corner.

"**I don't know," **Isaac said, **"This is the only time I've ever seen them."**

"**Look in that one's hand," **Erin said, pointing, **"He's got a sheet of paper. Our names are on it."**

Jesse nodded. **"So how do those two know who we are?"**

"**I don't know," **Isaac said, **"But I can tell you where to look. That's the city power plant."**

"**How far is that from here?" **Jesse asked intensely.

"**It's about an hour by cab." **Isaac said, **"Hurry. You need to find him quickly."**

(Chris's POV)

Chris Ariando walked towards the power plant. **"You really think it's in there Tom?" **he asked.

"**Definitely," **Tom Shale said, **"I used my ability to have a look around earlier."**

"**In that case, we had better get in there," **Chris said, running for the power plant, **"You ready?"**

"**Yeah," **Tom said, **"We just need a distraction."**

"**I've got that covered," **Chris said, **"According to the map, I should be able to knock out the power in this area. That should get their attention." **Chris walked up to a panel on the side of the plant and opened it. He concentratedon it and saw the flow of energy through the various connections. He concentrated on one flow and it slowly faded out.

"**That should keep them occupied for a while," **Chris said, **"Go for it."**

Tom closed his eyes and concentrated. He looked for his subject and slowly inserted his mind. Another view came into his mind. People were in the power plant, running towards the disturbance Chris had created.

"**I've only got an hour," **he said, in the host's voice, **"Better get moving."** He walked slowly towards the room he had seen when he looked around earlier. **"It should be nearby." **He moved the hosts body around a corner, then turned left, then two more rights and saw the door. **"That's it," **he said. He reached into the hosts pocket and removed a key. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. He began opening each drawer and rifling through them. It took a while, but he found what he was looking for and placed it in the pocket along with the key.

"**Half an hour left," **he said, **"Better get back to the entrance."**

He walked back the way he came, taking twenty-five minutes. He could have gone faster, but people were starting to recover from the disturbance and he didn't want to attract attention.

"**Got it," **he said, when he reached Chris. He handed him the sheet. **"I'm going back to my body now. Once I'm out, stun him." **Slowly, Tom's original body reanimated, his eyes opening. Chris reached up a hand to his former host and discharged a bolt of electrical energy into him. Not fatal, but enough to knock him out. When he woke up, he wouldn't remember a thing. The two of them turned around, heading back the way it came. Just as they were leaving, a cab pulled up and two people got out, a guy and a girl. The pair ran toward them.

"**The four of us should talk," **the girl said, **"You don't know us, but we know you. I'm Erin Estrada."**

"**Jesse Martin," **the guy said, **"Check your list. We're on it."**

Chris nodded and consulted the sheet of paper, then nodded. **"How did you know we were here?" **he asked.

"**We talked to Isaac Mendez," **Erin said, **"He paints things before they happen."**

"**I've heard of him," **Chris said, **"So what about you? Do you have abilities?"**

"**I can move objects with my mind," **Jesse said. He demonstrated by levitating a small stone, moving it over to Erin and dropping it into her palm.

"**I can change things into other things," **Erin said. She concentrated on the stone and it gradually transformed into a diamond, which Erin placed in her pocket.

"**Nice powers," **Chris said, **"No wonder they're interested in you."**

"**Who is?" **Erin asked.

"**The people who wrote this list," **Chris said, **"They track people with special abilities like us. Unfortunately, we don't know who they are or why they do it? We're lucky were even able to find this list. We tracked one of their people here and managed to break in and steal the list. We were just about to leave when you guys showed up."**

"**We should take the list to Dr. Suresh," **Erin said, **"He's been doing a lot of research on people like us and our abilities."**

"**Sounds like a good plan," **Tom said, **"We'd better get out of here quickly."**

The other three nodded and they quickly departed the power plant.


	9. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

**"A list of people like you?" **Dr. Suresh asked, **"Interesting. What do you suppose their agenda is?"**

"**My guess would be to use us as science experiments," **Chris said, **"But I don't know anything definitively."**

"**We don't even know who most of them are," **Tom said, **"These people are like shadows."**

"**I have an acquaintance," **Dr. Suresh said, **"I think I should contact him. He might be able to tell us more."**

"**Sounds like a good idea," **Erin said, **"We'll wait as long as we have to."**

"**I'll call him right away," **Dr. Suresh said, moving over to a phone. He picked it up and dialed a number. After a few moments, he spoke.

"**There are some people here I think you should meet," **Dr. Suresh said,** Can you come see me immediately?" **There was a pause for a moment, then Dr. Suresh said, **"Okay." **He hung up the phone. **"He'll be here in a while," **he said, re-entering the room, **"I suggest that we wait until then."**

(Shannon's POV)

Shannon Ericson looked down on the rooftop of Kirby Plaza. She was floating in the air, as though suspended by wires. This was how it always was when she used her power. She would be floating above whatever scene she entered into. She could observe the scene, but not interact with anyone in it. She floated down to the scene and watched. She saw several people, a few of whom she already knew. Peter Petrelli, Hiro Nakamura, and Sylar, the serial killer. The other people she didn't know yet, but she had seen a couple of them before. She saw a boy, a year younger than she was. She recognized him from other trips like this, but she didn't know who he was or who the girl with him was. She looked down at the scene watching what happened. There appeared to be a confrontation going on between Sylar and the others. She watched it play out. The others fought and Sylar was stabbed through the heart with a sword. Soon after, there was a massive explosion, powerful enough to destroy all of New York City. She suddenly came out of the vision, shuddering.

"**That was the most powerful vision yet," **she said to herself. Her previous trips into the dreams of Isaac Mendez had always been eventful, but nothing like that. She stood up and walked into her kitchen to make herself some coffee. The vision had been very strong. What kind of person had enough power to set off an explosion like that? It had to be someone with an ability, but Shannon hadn't been able to tell who it was. She grabbed a bag of coffee from a shelf as she pondered this and poured it into her coffee maker. She started it up and waited for it to finish. She went over to her shelf and grabbed a mug, then poured the coffee into it. Something was occuring to her as she sipped the coffee. Why had the vision suddenly stopped? She usually wasn't forced out unless the person whose dream she was in woke up and that didn't feel like this. She did have one speculation though: It could mean that Isaac Mendez had died a violent and painful death. This only brought one thought to mind: Sylar had gotten to him. Shannon stared down at the floor, feeling sad for him. She had met Isaac and he was a likeable enough guy, despite the drug addiction. She decided to go find out more. She walked into her living room and grabbed her sneakers from beside the couch and put them on quickly. She walked out of her door, but she was barely on the street when someone grabbed her from behind. She tried to struggle, but she felt a prick in the side of her neck and her eyes began to close slowly. Someone had given her a sedative. She felt herself slump to the ground as she fell unconcious.


	10. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Erin was nervous about this. Dr. Suresh's friend had finally arrived and there was something strange about him. Maybe it was the glasses, but she didn't think so. There was just something…off about this guy.

"**Hello," **he greeted, **"I am Noah Bennet."**

"**Jesse Martin," **Jesse responded. The others followed suit by giving their own names. Grudgingly, Erin gave her own name to him.

"**So, you've acquired a list of people like you," **Noah said, **"May I see it?" **Jesse nodded and produced the list from his pocket. He handed it to Noah, who inspected it.

"**Yeah, this is definitely the Company's work, all right," **he said, **"Where did you get it?"**

"**From a power plant downtown," **Tom said, **"Obviously a company front. I controlled one of them with my ability and used them to get it."**

"**Pretty impressive," **Noah said, **"But you should be careful performing stunts like that in the future. The Company is incredibly dangerous. There are some of them that would do anything to accomplish their agenda."**

"**Which is what?" **Erin said, **"Should we feel threatened?"**

"**The Company fears people like you," **Noah said, **"These abilities frighten them. They want to control people, but they can't do that if people start developing these powers. They intend to stamp this problem out before it spreads."**

"**You're saying they plan to kill us?" **Jesse said.

"**Exactly," **Noah said, **"You've all heard about Sylar, the serial killer?"**

"**We've met him," **Erin responded, **"He tried to take my powers and Jesse's. We were lucky to escape."**

"**Sylar is powerful, but he is only one man," **Noah said, **"The Company represents a far bigger threat to you than Sylar ever will. They are incredibly ruthless. I have seen people killed simply because they were there." **He shuddered slightly at this.

"**But how do we deal with them if we don't even know who they are?" **Erin asked.

"**I can give you two names," **Noah said, **"Bob Bishop and Kaito Nakamura. They are both co-founders of The Company. If you choose to seek one of them out, I would suggest Nakamura. He is an honorable man and will likely do nothing to harm you. Bishop, however, will operate under no such constraints." **

"**Kaito Nakamura," **Jesse said, **"I know that name. Isn't he the head of some big business in Japan?"**

"**Yes he is," **Noah said, **"He is probably one of the wealthiest of the founders."**

"**What interest does someone like that have in people like us?" **Erin asked.

"**Kaito has a son named Hiro, who possesses an ability," **Noah explained, **"You'll probably meet him eventually."**

"**Hiro," **Jesse said, as though to burn the name into his memory. Just after he said this, he looked at a television screen where the local news was running. Suddenly, he stood up.

"**Erin," **he said, **"Come look at this." **He grabbed the nearby remote and turned up the volume. Erin hurried over.

"**Today at 4:22 p.m. Simone Deveaux entered a loft belonging to a local artist named Isaac Mendez," **the reporter was saying, **"Upon entering, she discovered the dead body of Mr. Mendez, with his head cut open. Ms. Deveaux called the police, who came immediately to investigate. Upon their investigation, the police concluded that Mr. Mendez was attacked by an unknown assailant…" **The reporter's voice trailed off as Jesse turned down the volume.

"**Unknown assailant?" **Erin asked sardonically, **"I bet **_**I**_** know him." **

"**Sylar," **Jesse agreed, **"He got to Isaac." **

"**Isaac Mendez?" **Noah asked, **"You've met him?"**

"**Yeah, why?" **Jesse said.

"**I recently acquired a copy of one of Isaac's paintings," **Noah said, **"I think you might want to see it." **He took out a bag he had brought with him and took out a rolled up canvas from it. He unrolled the canvas and showed it to them.

"**Everything is destroyed," **Erin said, **"There are flames and other things everywhere. Is this New York?"**

"**I think so," **Jesse said, **"It looks like it got hit by a nuclear bomb."**

"**It's worse than that," **Noah said, **"I suspect that this is the result of someone's ability. I saw a much more extensive list of the people with abilities during my association with The Company. One of those people is a man named Ted Sprague. According to the company, his ability is to generate compressed bursts of nuclear energy, not unlike the energy that would be used to create this explosion."**

"**So you think this Ted Sprague is going to do this?" **Chris asked.

"**Either that or someone with his power," **Noah said.

"**Like Sylar," **Tom said, **"It all seems to come back to him. So what should we do about it?" **

"**From this painting," **Chris said, **"It looks like the origin of the explosion is the Kirby Plaza. We should probably head there."**

"**But we don't even know what time this is going to happen," **Erin said, **"We can't just wait there."**

"**The events in Isaac's paintings usually occur within a month or so of the time he paints them," **Noah said, **"I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that this one will happen soon."**

"**I suggest we wait and see what happens," **Dr. Suresh said, **"There doesn't seem to be any other course of action."**

"**I agree," **Jesse said. The others nodded.

"**Good," **Noah said, **"I have to go. I can't be gone for too long. The Company will be after my daughter. I have to make sure she's protected. Until next time, Dr. Suresh." **He hurried out the door and into a waiting cab, which drove away immediately.

(Peter's POV)

Miles away, Peter Petrelli struggled to focus himself, to control his abilities. He had to master them if he was ever going to change the future. He had seen the future and he knew what would happen if didn't control them. He would never be able to bear having that on his conscience.

"**You have to master yourself first," **Charles Deveaux had told him, **"You have to face death and know that you have the power to defeat it."**

_Well, _he thought, _here goes everything. _He stood at the edge of the building, looking down at the ground. He took a deep breath, then slowly stepped off and began falling. As the ground approached, Peter closed his eyes.

_Come on, _he told himself savagely, _Fly. Save yourself, you idiot! _ He looked down and saw the ground coming toward him, faster, faster. Then suddenly, it stopped. Now it was moving horizontally and no longer approaching him. He had done it. He had successfully managed to control his flight power. Maybe he could do this after all.


	11. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

The streets outside of Dr. Suresh's lab were quiet. No one would suspect what was going on inside the building. But there was one person on the street that knew what was going on. Or rather, one animal probably would have been more accurate. A small cat had been listening at Dr. Suresh's window, unnoticed by the other people in the room. She hadn't been able to hear much, but she did catch the words "Kirby Plaza" and "explosion." This made her convinced: something bad was going to happen at Kirby Plaza. Given the tension and urgency in the voices of those who spoke, she would guess it was going to happen soon. The cat walked into a nearby alley and closed it's eyes. Soon enough, the cat began to change shape, growing taller. When the change was complete, a girl stood in the alley where the cat had been. She walked a little further until the end of the alley. The girl was about seventeen, of average height, with dark hair. Her face was nondescript, but there was a look of determination on it. _So now I wait, _she though to herself, _Hurry up, Heidi. We need to know what's going on here._ She looked down at her watch, tapping her foot impatiently. After what seemed like several minutes, her waiting paid off. Another girl walked into the alley and came over to her.

"**Katie," **she said, **"What did you learn?"**

"**Kirby Plaza," **she said, **"There's going to be an explosion. One of them had a painting of it. Also, I learned that the artist who painted it, Isaac Mendez, has been attacked by Sylar. What about you, Heidi?"**

"**I managed to sneak in," **Heidi said, **"I found these." **She reached into a pocket and took out some pictures, with names written at the bottom, and handed them over to Katie. 

"**These pictures," **Katie said, looking through them, **"We're in here."**

"**Us and a lot of other people," **Heidi said, **"Presumably they all have special abilities. I think the Company has been doing surveillance on all of them."**

"**But why?" **Katie said, **"What do they want with them?"**

"**Same thing they want with us," **Heidi said, **"To destroy us. They're afraid." **

Katie continued to look through the pictures. **"Hey, wait a minute," **she said, **"I just saw these four. They were in the lab." **She showed four of the pictures to Heidi.

"**Erin Estrada, Tom Shale, Jesse Martin, and Chris Ariando," **Heidi said,

"**Interesting. I wonder what they were doing there."**

"**If we meet them again, we can be sure and ask," **Katie said, **"In the meantime, we had better hurry to Kirby Plaza."**

"**Right," **Heidi said, **"Come on, let's go." **The two of them walked off together, looking for the nearest cab.

(Jesse's POV)

Jesse and Erin hurried towards Kirby Plaza. The explosion was coming soon and they needed to get there quickly. Chris and Tom were with them. 

"**There's a lot of ground to cover," **Erin said, **"How do we know where to go?"**

"**The scene in that picture looked like it was on the rooftop of that building," **Chris said, pointing, **"You could see that sign in the image."**

"**Good plan," **Jesse said, **"We had better hurry up."**

The four of them made their way quickly to the building and hurried inside, finding the nearest staircase. Unfortunately, none of them could fly, so they were restricted to ordinary means. When they reached the rooftop, they saw that several people had already arrived. Jesse's eyes immediately landed on one of them.

"**Erin," **he said, **"It's Sylar."**

"**Hunting for more abilities, no doubt," **Erin said, glaring, **"Let's take him down." **She rushed towards Sylar, but Jesse held her back.

"**Be careful," **he said, **"He's a lot more powerful than we are. Besides, we have other concerns to worry about. Look." **Erin looked. Other people were arriving. Two men arrived from the air, followed by an Asian man, who seemingly appeared from nowhere. Sylar took notice of this and turned.

"**Well, well," **he said, grinning wickedly, **"I see everyone got invited to this party." **As he had said this, 2 younger girls hurried up the stairs. One of them immediately rushed toward Sylar, aiming a punch at him. Sylar glanced at her casually and she was thrown backward, slamming into a wall. Jesse ran over to her immediately and knelt next to her.

"**Are you all right?" **he asked her, not worrying about the fact that he had never met this girl. 

"**Yeah," **she said, gasping for breath, **"You're Jesse Martin." **A statement, not a question.

"**You know me?" **he asked, **"How?"**

"**Just from your picture," **she said, **"I took some photos from The Company. Yours was one of them. My name is Heidi."**

"**Now that the introductions are through," **he said, **"What are we going to do about this?"**

"**I don't know," **she said, **"He's so strong. I can't even get close." **She looked back over and her eyes widened, which got Jesse's attention. He followed her eyes and saw what was bothering her. There was a man standing in front of Sylar, starting to glow. The explosion! It was coming!

"**Well, well, Peter," **Sylar said, **"It looks like you're the villain. And me, I'm the hero." **Jesse winced. Sylar? A hero? Yeah right? The glowing grew stronger, apparently devoid of Peter's control. 

"**That's Peter Petrelli," **Heidi said, **"I saw The Company's file on him. When he's around someone like us, he gains their abilities. It looks like he got this one, but he can't control it."**

"**We'd better think of a way to stop him then," **Jesse said, **"But first we have to deal with Sylar." **He looked over toward Sylar, but there was nothing he could do. Sylar was approaching them. Just then, Sylar screamed in pain. Jesse looked up. The Asian man was standing over Sylar, holding a sword. He had evidently stabbed Sylar, who collapsed. 

"**Nice stab," **Jesse said, rising to his feet, **"I'm Jesse."**

"**I am Hiro," **the Asian man said, smiling, **"Pleased to meet you."**

Jesse nodded and reached down to help Heidi to her feet. She groaned slightly.

"**I'm going to be sore in the morning," **she said, **"Well, at least it's over."**

"**I don't think so," **Jesse said, **"Look." **Heidi looked. Peter's glowing was getting stronger.

"**Oh no," **Heidi said, **"It's happening." **Peter began to approach them.

"**Hiro," **Peter said, **"Use the sword. Kill me." **Hiro nodded, understanding, and began to raise the sword. At that moment, he was thrown backwards. Jesse looked down. Sylar was still breathing and he had thrown Hiro with his power. Hiro squeezed his eyes shut and disappeared just before hitting a sign.

"**No!" **Peter said, **"Damn you Sylar!" **Just then, another man walked over and grabbed Peter.

"**Nathan," **Peter said, **"What are you doing?"**

"**Taking you away from here," **he said, **"We're going to fly."**

"**Fly?" **Peter said, **"I don't understand."**

"**We have to do this, Peter," **Nathan said, **"It was destined. You saved the cheerleader, so we could save the world." **Peter nodded and Nathan grabbed him. The two of them floated into the air and flew off into the sky. Seconds later, the explosion happened, but nothing was harmed. Erin walked over to them, smiling. 

"**I guess it really is over now, huh?" **she said.

"**Just after I finish off this trash," **Jesse said, looking down towards Sylar, **"Hey, where is he?"**

"**He must have slipped away while we were worrying about Peter," **Erin said, grunting.

"**Don't worry, we'll get him next time," **Jesse said. Suddenly, he felt a prick in the back of his neck. Within moments, he passed out.

(End of Story)

**A/N: I know I kind of left the story hanging by a thread there, but don't worry. It's not over. There will be another story, to pick up where this one left off. **


End file.
